If you have children (or even one child), you know how expensive little ones can be. It’s not only feeding and clothing them, but the numerous “must-have” items as well. I’m going to show you ways to earn money for your family that may take a little planning, but give you some big savings over the years of raising little ones. Some of the options are easier than others, but if you need to cut costs on your baby expenses, it can be done. Let’s do it!
FOOD
What comes to mind when you think of what all babies need???? FOOD! The first way you can save money for your family is by breastfeeding your child. **I don’t want to get into the debate of formula versus breast milk; however, the financial differences between the personal choices are definitely large.
Bottle Fed/Breastfeeding: Babies are required to have either breast milk or formula for a full 12 months, so you can save a minimum of $1,700 by choosing to exclusively nurse your baby if physically possible. If you are having difficulties with the baby latching on or if it’s too painful and but you still want to continue nursing, visit the following websites for help: https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/ and https://www.llli.org/. Even if you must go back to work, it doesn’t prevent you from continuing to breastfeed. You do have the option of continuing to pump during the day while you’re away from the baby. Remember that if you have to go back to work due to financial reasons, this is something that will make it easier for you to get your bills paid and not be so stressed about your finances. I get it, it’s an inconvenience, but well worth it for your baby as well as your bottom line.
Separate from the financial perks, benefits of breastfeeding can include:
· Sick less and have a lower risk of allergies
· Lower risk of obesity and Types 1 and 2 diabetes
· Lower incidence of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
· Reduced risk for ear infections (otitis media) and gastroenteritis
· Optimal brain development
· Nutrients that help strengthen and develop their immature immune system in a way no other substance can
· Respond better to immunizations against Polio, Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Haemophilus influenza (bacterium that can cause a severe infection)
· Optimal oral development because of their jaw movements and nutrients in breastmilk decrease the risk of tooth decay
· Protected against respiratory infections including those caused by rotaviruses
· Less likely to be hospitalized with pneumonia or bronchiolitis, and decreased risk of lower respiratory tract infections
· Slightly enhanced performance on cognitive development tests
Back to the financial gains, let’s take a look at an excerpt taken from www.thesimpledollar.com
“If we do the math, then, an average baby eats 9,125 ounces of milk/formula during their first year of life. To determine the cost of formula, I again turned to statistics…the average cost of an ounce of formula… price of $0.19/ounce. So, if we do a straight multiplication here, we find that over the first year of life, average formula to feed an average baby costs $1,733.75, while the cost of breastmilk is $0. In both cases, we are ignoring indirect costs, such as additional nutritional needs for a nursing mother as well as costs of going to the store to buy breastmilk, bottles, and water for formula.”
Those numbers mentioned in the article are just speaking about the actual liquid and does not take into consideration other items like bottles, cleaning brushes, pumping equipment, nursing bras, etc. Pediatricians now recommend that babies be exclusively fed breast milk or formula for the first 4-6 months of their life. Even if you can only breastfeed while in the hospital or on maternity leave, you’re still giving your baby advantages. For various reasons, you may not be able to breastfeed, especially if you adopted. If it’s not be an option for you for various reasons, you can work on keeping costs as low as possible for formula.
The hospital may give you several coupons or even samples so definitely keep those. Even if you decide to breastfeed, you may use formula for traveling or when your milk supply weans. When you decide on a brand for your baby (some may be easier on their tummy than others), go to their website and sign up to receive coupons. Also, scour your local stores for sales and discounts. The warehouses have amazing deals from time to time. Unlike some other items, you can not just feed your baby whatever formula is on sale that week. That will create havoc on their little system. This can make it more difficult to keep costs low since you may be beholden to a brand that works for your little bundle of joy. Plan ahead and purchase more than needed when it’s on sale or when you have a coupon. Along with 12 months of milk/formula, solid food can be introduced between 4-6 months of age if the baby is showing signs of readiness.
Solid Food: You hear stories of the super-mom that keeps her house spotless, greets her husband with a smile and gourmet dinner, makes baby food and still has time to look beautiful. Does this person exist? I’m not sure if anyone can sustain that pace anymore and not have a nervous breakdown; however, making your own baby food can be surprisingly easier than you think. For babies, when introducing food to littles with no or little teeth, you can’t use the normal food that you’re eating. Adjustments need to be made. You can either choose to make it yourself or purchase food specifically formulated for babies. Before going into detail on this topic, I would like to refer you to a wonderful book that I lived by when my children were little. The book is called “Super Baby Food” by Ruth Yaron. You can check out your local library to determine if it is something that you are interested in doing, before purchasing it.
The book recommends when to introduce solid foods (by month) to make it easier for you. Make sure you consult with your pediatrician on the order of introduction. It doesn’t have to be all of nothing with food making. You’re not required to make every meal for your baby. You can do it in moderation. Anything that you can do will decrease your overall costs and even expand your baby’s palate to items not sold in stores. *I’m going to outline what you can do at a minimum to save money, but first, here’s an excerpt from Super Baby Food, 2nd edition.
“Let’s figure out how much more you pay for commercial baby food by analyzing a very common jarred commercial baby food—carrots. At the time this book was published, my local supermarket was selling a four-ounce jar of brand name puréed baby carrots for 35 cents. [The best prices I can find at this point are around 41 cents/jar on sale.] That works out to $1.40 a pound (35 cents for four ounces or ¼ pound, times 4). However, there are less than 4 ounces of carrots in each jar, because water is added during processing, and your actual cost is more than $1.40 per pound.”
On how much water is in jarred baby food. “One hinted that it was about 15%. Assuming this is true, the price of commercial baby carrots is more like $1.64 a pound ($1.40 divided by 85%). Fresh carrots…cost about 50 cents a pound. Therefore, commercial baby carrots at $1.64 a pound are more than three times the cost of fresh carrots! Maybe you think that it’s worth the extra cost for the convenience of commercial baby food…Following the method described in this book, you can make a month’s supply of vegetables for you baby in about an hour. If you baby eats 3 jars of veggies a day, and you’re paying 35 cents per jar, that’s $1.05 a day or about $30 a month. If you make your own baby food, it will cost you only 1/3 of that or $10 a month. In approximately 1 hour, you’re saving $20—and that’s tax-free! In fact, if you get fresh veggies on sale at the supermarket, it is possible to make healthy homemade Super Baby Food for as little as 3 cents a serving!”
As I mentioned before, you don’t have to make ALL of your baby’s food. Take a look at the following easy alternatives to jar baby food, even if you decide that you don’t want to make everything.
Jar bananas Mashed fresh banana
Jar applesauce All natural jar of applesauce (not baby food)
**No equivalent Mashed fresh avocado
Jar fruits Canned fruits in own juices, mashed (if too hard to mash, blend)
Jar vegetables Canned vegetables, mashed (if too hard to mash, blend)
Yogurt advertised for babies Plain yogurt and/or with natural fruit added
**There are no jarred avocadoes, which is unfortunate because of the high nutritional value.
Just by doing these simple steps, you can earn a lot of money for your family. Along with saving the family money, you can also feed your baby foods that don’t come in jars (i.e.: avocadoes and egg yolks) that have a high nutritional value for your baby. In addition, you may even be expanding your baby’s young palate to like a larger variety of foods. Picky kids can be difficult to feed.
Some of my favorites were sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, squash, and mango. Fresh or frozen veggies cooked and blended can be great too, but canned is definitely easier and quicker. When I was preparing food for our family, I just made some extra of what we were already eating, blended it, and froze it in ice trays which is the perfect serving size for little ones. As they grew, they would eat 2 or 3 cubes at a sitting. I would just let it thaw out in the fridge the night before or just a few hours. Worked perfectly.
I prescribe and would recommend making all of your baby’s food; however, I did keep jar food for times when we were traveling. When purchasing jars of food, look for specials and sales. Even if you don’t buy a lot of jar food, the prices can add up. Don’t feel that you have to buy a specialty brand. Look at the ingredients on the jars. They all should consist of water and the food that you’re purchasing. Don’t purchase any brands with a lot of additives. Your local grocery store likely will have a kids club where they have coupons for common baby and child purchases and formula is commonly present in these.
We all know that food and milk for the baby is nothing close to all that you need to welcome a new baby into your home and life. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to shell out a lot more money—YIKES. Cutting costs wherever possible will add up over time and always remember that every little bit helps.
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